Marte’s hot July is key for Diamondbacks
All-Star keeps Arizona’s postseason hopes alive
In a stadium lousy with scouts, trade speculation and scoreboard watchers, Ketel Marte just keeps hitting.
He’s so hot that his final RBI in the Diamondbacks’ 5-2 win over the Orioles on Wednesday came when his mere presence scared Baltimore relief pitcher Tanner Scott into bouncing a fastball three feet in front of home plate.
“That was a big at-bat by Marte with the bases loaded,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
Marte came up in the seventh with the Diamondbacks clinging to a 4-2 lead.
Arizona reliever Yoshihisa Hirano had just escaped a bases-loaded jam, and the Diamondbacks needed some insurance. They were clinging to the game – and to their hopes of keeping close to Washington, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and San Francisco in the wild-card hunt.
There were two outs. Jarrod Dyson was on third. Nick Ahmed was on second. Tim Locastro was on first.
Marte stepped in from the right side, exhaled and stared Scott down.
The lefty never stood a chance.
‘One of the best’
In a six-pitch at-bat, Scott threw four balls in the dirt, including the 3-2 fastball that only went 57 feet.
It’s easy to see why Scott didn’t want to challenge Marte.
The Diamondbacks’ All-Star center fielder/second baseman had smacked a home run an inning earlier. It was the latest moment in a homestand where he hit .429 (12-for-28), with three doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBIs and six runs scored.
Marte also had a .500 on-base percentage, a .714 slugging percentage and his on-base plus slugging was a surreal 1.214 in the seven games against Milwaukee and Baltimore.
“He’s one of the best players in the league, for me,” Lovullo said.
“We certainly would not be where we are without him.”
It’s that much more remarkable when you consider the distractions of trade rumors that have enveloped seemingly half the team.
It’s relentless.
Scouts from opposing teams packed the stands behind home plate Wednesday. There’s no telling who they were there to evaluate.
USA TODAY, ESPN, Fox, MLB Network, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, Sporting News and a bunch of obscure media outlets you’ve never heard of have all speculated on the futures of Robbie Ray, Zack Greinke, David Peralta, Adam Jones, Jarrod Dyson, Greg Holland and Jake Lamb. (And that’s not counting the guys who might be available from the Baltimore dugout.)
It’s natural this time of year as contenders seek to load up on big-league talent and stragglers try to bolster their farm systems.
Then there are tweeners like the Diamondbacks. They’re two weeks out of first place in the NL West, but right in the fire of a wild-card race.
A dominant homestretch could have convinced General Manager Mike Hazen to keep this group together. Instead, the Diamondbacks dropped four games, including three losses to the Brewers, one of the half-dozen teams scrapping for a spot in the one-game playoff.
Plus, the Cardinals and Giants have been surging.
‘The next level’
It seems like the prudent course for Hazen is to swap players for prospects, but it’s not a foregone conclusion.
Marte, for his part, hasn’t worried about any of it. He’s been hot all month.
The secret, he said through a translator, is “just working hard, believing in God, staying humble, and knowing that I have to keep up what I’m doing to be able to be at this pace and achieving what I’m achieving right now.”
In July, he’s hitting .379 (25-for-66) with six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 10 RBIs. And he’s hitting a clean .400 in the 12 games since the All-Star break.
He finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and the home run Wednesday.
“He’s taken his game to the next level,” Lovullo said. “He’s making the game look easy, and that’s hard to do against really, really good competition.”
Marte appreciates the recognition that comes with his play.
“I’m really happy, really proud,” he said. “I feel like God is blessing me a lot this year, and I hope to be able to continue keeping this up.”